Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 September 30

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From today's featured article

Herbert Maryon (1874–1965) was an English sculptor, conservator, goldsmith, archaeologist and authority on ancient metalwork. Maryon was the first director of the Arts and Crafts–inspired Keswick School of Industrial Art, then taught at the universities of Reading and Durham until 1939. During this time he designed the University of Reading War Memorial, excavated one of the oldest gold artefacts in Britain, and authored the standard Metalwork and Enamelling. Maryon left retirement to join the British Museum, and is best known for his conservation work on the Sutton Hoo ship-burial, including restorations of the shield, the drinking horns, and the iconic Sutton Hoo helmet. In other work he restored a Roman helmet, coined the term pattern welding, and wrote a paper influencing a painting by Salvador Dalí. Maryon was appointed to the Order of the British Empire in 1956; asked by Queen Elizabeth II what he did, Maryon responded: "Well, Ma'am, I am a sort of back room boy at the British Museum." (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

National Burns Memorial

... that William Fraser won a commission in 1896 to design a memorial in Mauchline honouring Scottish poet Robert Burns, which incorporates a tower (pictured) in the Scottish baronial style?
... that the Eocene-age plant Paraconcavistylon was described from a "Rosetta Stone" fossil?
... that as an advisor to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Paul Alexander tried unsuccessfully to tell Dr. Anthony Fauci what he could and could not say about the coronavirus?
... that Greece is the only state to have left the Council of Europe?
... that the owners of Florida radio station WPAS blamed an Associated Press teletype machine for starting a fire that burned it down?
... that Saefullah was acting governor of Jakarta for 40 hours?
... that the Madison Belmont Building contains one of the first Art Deco designs in a building in the United States?
... that Leon Uris called Rod Serling's In the Presence of Mine Enemies "the most disgusting presentation in the history of American television" and demanded that the negative be burned?

In the news

COVID-19 pandemic: Disease; Virus; By location; Impact; Portal

Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah

Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (pictured) becomes Emir of Kuwait after the death of his half-brother, Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, at the age of 91.
Azerbaijani and Armenian armed forces clash in Nagorno-Karabakh, prompting the introduction of martial law in both countries and mobilization in Armenia.
Bah Ndaw takes office as Mali's interim president following a coup d'état in August.
Cyclone Ianos stalls over Greece, killing four people and flooding several cities.

On this day

September 30: Orange Shirt Day in Canada

James Dean

737 – Muslim conquest of Transoxiana: Türgesh tribes attacked the Umayyad army's exposed baggage train, which had been sent ahead of the main force, and captured it.
1551 – Sue Takafusa, a retainer of the Ōuchi clan in western Japan, led a coup against the daimyō, Ōuchi Yoshitaka, leading to the latter's forced suicide.
1939 – Second World War: General Władysław Sikorski became the first prime minister of the Polish government-in-exile.
1955 – American film actor James Dean (pictured) suffered fatal injuries in a head-on car accident near Cholame, California.

Thomas Allen (d. 1632)
Decimus Burton (b. 1800)
Sonia Orbuch (d. 2018)

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Today's featured picture

Long Island City is a residential and commercial neighborhood located on the extreme western tip of Queens, New York City, on the western edge of Long Island. Incorporated as a separate city in 1870, it was originally the seat of government of the town of Newtown before becoming part of New York City in 1898. Long Island City was once home to many factories and bakeries, some of which are finding new uses, and starting in the early 21st century, it became known for its rapid and ongoing residential growth and gentrification, its waterfront parks, and its thriving arts community. The area has a high concentration of art galleries, art institutions, and studio spaces.

Photograph credit: Tony Jin

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